John Kerry

John Kerry (b. December 11, 1943, in Aurora, Colorado) is the current U.S. Secretary of State. Kerry was confirmed by the Senate on January 29, 2013, by a vote of 94-3.^[1] He then resigned his seat in the U.S. Senate, where he served as a Democratic member of the U.S. Senate from 1985-2013, representing Massachusetts.^[1][2] Kerry has been in public service since first running for office in 1972.^[3]

Biography

While Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado, his family moved to Massachusetts when he was young. He was accepted to and graduated from Yale University. Kerry then volunteered for the U.S. Navy and served two tours of duty in Vietnam. He earned a Silver Star, Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts.^[4] After Kerry unsuccessfully ran for U.S. Congress in 1972, he joined the district attorney's office and earned his J.D. from Boston College.^[5] He served as lieutenant governor of Massachusetts under Governor Michael Dukakis before winning election to the United States Senate in 1984.^[6]

Career

Below is an abbreviated outline of Kerry's academic, professional and political career:^[7]

• 1966: Graduated from Yale
• 1966-1970: Served in U.S. Navy including two tours in Vietnam
• 1972: Ran unsuccessfully for Massachusetts' 5th Congressional District
• 1976: Graduated from Boston College Law School
• 1977-1982: Assistant District Attorney of Massachusetts
• 1982-1984: Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
• 1984-2013: U.S. Senator from Massachusetts
• 2004: Ran unsuccessfully for U.S. President
• 2013-Present: U.S. Secretary of State

Confirmation vote

Kerry was confirmed as the Secretary of State on January 29, 2013, by a vote of 94-3. The notable votes included three Republicans who voted against the confirmation: Ted Cruz (R-TX), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK). Kerry voted present.^[8] He replaced Hillary Clinton as Secretary of State.

John Kerry confirmation vote, January 29, 2013
Party	Votes for a	Votes against d	Total votes
Democrats	48	0	48
Republicans	46	3	49
Independents	0	0	0
Total Votes	94	3	97

Secretary of State term initiatives

Executive Departments of the United States

Executive Departments Department of Defense • Department of State • Department of Homeland Security • Department of Justice • Department of Commerce • Department of Education • Department of the Treasury • Department of Agriculture • Department of Energy • Department of Labor • Department of Transportation • Department of the Interior • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Veterans Affairs • Department of Housing and Urban Development

Department Secretaries Ashton Carter • John Kerry • Jeh Johnson • Loretta Lynch • Penny Pritzker • Arne Duncan • Jack Lew • Tom Vilsack • Ernest Moniz • Tom Perez • Anthony Foxx • Sally Jewell • Sylvia Mathews Burwell • Robert McDonald • Julian Castro

Obama administration

ISIS in Iraq

See also: ISIS insurgency in Iraq and Syria

Kerry said on June 16, 2014, that the United States would be willing to listen if Iran wanted to help end the violence against Iraq's government by the terrorist group, Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS). He said, "We're open to discussions if there is something constructive that can be contributed by Iran, if Iran is prepared to do something that is going to respect the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq and ability of the government to reform."^[9] Kerry said August 12, 2014 that talks with Australian Defense Minister David Johnston aimed at working out the provision of humanitarian aid to parts of Iraq, as well as developing a plan on how to handle fighting jihadists who wish to return to their home countries following the war.^[10]

Kerry told reporters on August 13, 2014, U.S. military personnel were looking into the idea of a rescue operation to get the trapped Yazidis being held on a mountain in Iraq. He said, "Well, that's exactly what we're assessing," Kerry responded. "This is precisely what the team that [President Obama] sent in is prepared to do. We will make a very rapid and critical assessment, because we understand it's urgent to try and move those people off the mountain. And I hope we can have more to report in short order."^[11] A combination of United States air strikes and Kurdish forces allowed the Yazidis to escape the Sinjar Mountains on August 14, 2014. It was initially thought that U.S. ground forces might be used in the rescue operation, but following a reconnaissance mission by U.S. military advisers, it was determined that U.S. troops were not necessary.^[12]

New Iraqi cabinet

Kerry offered his support to Haider al-Abadi, a potential replacement for Prime Minister al-Maliki, on August 12, 2014, after the president of Iraq demanded he step down. He stated that the U.S. would support the new government regime in different ways, but he drew the line with the topic of sending troops back, claiming, "There will be no reintroduction of American combat forces into Iraq. Nobody, I think, is looking forwards to a return to the road that we’ve travelled."

On September 8, 2014, a new cabinet was established in Iraq under Prime Minister al-Abadi, which allowed the government to move forward in establishing plans against ISIS.^[13] U.S. Secretary Kerry spoke highly of the move, insisting it had "the potential to unite all of Iraq’s diverse communities."^[14]

Coalition building

Kerry was to meet with Middle East diplomats on September 11, 2014, in order to establish the coalition, though it was not believed to be an easy sell to those countries. Included in the countries visiting with Kerry in Saudi Arabia were Turkey, Qatar, Jordan, United Arab Emirates and Egypt.^[15]

Gaza peace talks

On July 25, 2014, Kerry proposed a cease-fire agreement between Israel and Hamas to ease the violence in the Gaza Strip. Kerry's proposal involved a seven day cease-fire backed by the United Nations, which would halt the offensive and possibly allow for the release of some Palestinian prisoners by the Israeli army. However, Israel's former ambassador to the U.S., Michael Oren, said, "if the cease-fire proposal calls for a five- or a seven-day cease-fire that enables Hamas to regroup, reestablish its communication systems and replenish its ammunition, then I don’t think Israel will accept that."^[16]

Later on July 25, Kerry announced that the cease-fire agreement he proposed was not accepted by the two sides, and Israel's ground forces were likely to "significantly" ramp up their offensive. Kerry did suggest a much smaller 12-hour cease-fire which Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "indicated his willingness to do that as a good faith down payment to move forward." However hope was held that an agreement would be reached in the near future with Kerry stating, "Gaps have been significantly narrowed. It can be achieved, if we work through some of the issues that are important for the parties."^[17]

Violence in Libya

Kerry condemned violent attacks by Libyan militias on November 15, 2013, that left 31 protesters dead and more than 200 injured. He released a statement, saying, "If a free people are going to succeed in forging a peaceful, secure, and prosperous country with a government based on the rule of law and respect for human rights, then there can be no place for this kind of violence in the new Libya."^[18]

Iran sanctions

Kerry and Treasury Secretary Jack Lew scheduled a briefing on October 29, 2013, with the Senate Banking Committee over nuclear talks with Iran, as the Senate considered new sanctions. Kerry and Lew testified on behalf of the Obama administration in order to push for the ability to waive sanctions depending on nuclear talks. The House passed a version of the bill with stronger sanctions in July 2013.^[19] According to a State Department spokesperson, "while we understand that Congress may consider new sanctions, we think this is a time for a pause, as we asked for in the past, to see if negotiations can gain traction."^[20]

Iran agreed to an interim deal that Kerry said, "halts the progress of Iran’s nuclear program and rolls its back in certain places," in exchange for the United States giving $7 billion in sanctions relief. In a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on December 10, 2013, Kerry stated, "Iran’s nuclear programs will not move forward." Pushback came on the six month agreement from both sides of the aisle. Democratic Rep. Eliot Engel said, "I have serious reservations about the agreement," while Republican Rep. Ed Royce claimed that by allowing Iran to continue to enrich uranium under the deal, "we may have bargained away our fundamental position."^[21]

Syria

See also: United States involvement in Syria

In response to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's alleged use of chemical weapons on rebels and civilians in a Damascus suburb, Kerry supported President Obama's September 4, 2013 decision to use a limited military strike against the Syrian government.^[22] Kerry said: "Well, we know that the Assad regime has the largest chemical weapons programs in the entire Middle East. We know that the regime has used those weapons multiple times this year, and has used them on a smaller scale but still it has used them against its own people, including not very far from where last Wednesday's attack happened."^[23]

"It matters because if we choose to live in the world where a thug and a murderer like Bashar al-Assad can gas thousands of his own people with impunity, even after the United States and our allies said no, and then the world does nothing about it, there will be no end to the test of our resolve and the dangers that will flow from those others who believe that they can do as they will."^[23]

Controversies

Secretary of State

Chinese hacking charges

On May 19, 2014, the Justice Department charged five members of the Chinese military of hacking into the systems of U.S. companies and a union. U.S. Steel Corp., Allegheny Technologies, Inc., Westinghouse Electric Co., Alcoa, Inc., Solar World Industries American, Inc. and the United Steel, Paper and Forestry, Rubber, Manufacturing, Energy, Allied Industrial and Service Workers International Union (USW) were the alleged targets of the hacking operation aimed at uncovering trade secrets. The indictment, based on the judgement of a grand jury in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania named five individuals for conspiracy to commit computer fraud and abuse. They were Wang Dong, Sun Kailiang, Wen Xinyu, Huang Zhenyu and Gu Chunhui.^[24]

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Qin Gang disputed the claims, stating, "The Chinese government, the Chinese military and their relevant personnel have never engaged or participated in cyber theft of trade secrets. The U.S. accusation against Chinese personnel is purely ungrounded and absurd."^[25] The Chinese government demanded that the charges be withdrawn and announced their intention to suspend their involvement in the U.S.-China Cyber Working Group. The group was formed in 2013 by Secretary of State John Kerry and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi to address the accusations of hacking between the two countries.^[24]

Department budget

U.S. Department of State Annual Budget
Year	Budget (in billions)	% Difference from previous year
2014	$47.8	-6.46%
2013	$51.1	N/A

^[26]

• Note: 2014 only represents the Department's budget request, not an enacted budget.

Committee assignments

U.S. Senate

2013

Kerry served on the following Senate committees^[27]:

• Foreign Relations Committee Chairman
• Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
• Finance Committee
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee

2011-2012

During the 112th Congress, Kerry served on the following committees.

• Foreign Relations Committee Chairman
• Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee
• Finance Committee
  • Subcommittee Health Care
  • Subcommittee Energy, Natural Resources, and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee Internal Trade, Customs, and Global Competitiveness
• Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
  • Subcommittee Communications, Technology, and the Internet Chairman
  • Subcommittee Aviation Operations, Safety, and Security
  • Subcommittee Competitiveness, Innovation, and Export Promotion
  • Subcommittee Science and Space
  • Subcommittee Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard
  • Subcommittee Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security

Congressional positions

Iraq

According to Kerry's campaign website, he supported a true end to the Iraq war. Specifically, Kerry promoted the establishment of a specific date to withdraw all troops.^[28]

Fiscal Cliff

Kerry voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. The bill was passed in the Senate by an 89 - 8 vote on January 1, 2013.^[29]

Elections

2008

On November 4, 2008, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jeffrey K. Beatty (R) and Robert J. Underwood (L) in the general election.^[30]

U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 2008
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes
	Democratic	John Kerry incumbent	63.6%	1,971,974
	Republican	Jeffrey K. Beatty	29.8%	926,044
	Libertarian	Robert J. Underwood	3%	93,716
	N/A	All Others	0.1%	2,516
	N/A	Blank/Scattering	3.5%	108,748
Total Votes				3,102,998

2004 presidential election

In 2004, Kerry was defeated by incumbent George W. Bush for the United States presidency.

U.S. presidential election, 2004
Party		Candidate	Vote %	Votes	Electoral votes
	Republican	George W. Bush/Dick Cheney Incumbent	50.8%	62,039,572	286
	Democratic	John Kerry/John Edwards	48.3%	59,027,115	251
	Independent	Ralph Nader/Peter Camejo	0.4%	465,642	0
	Libertarian	Michael Badnarik/Richard Campagna	0.3%	397,265	0
	Constitution	Michael Peroutka/Charles Baldwin	0.1%	144,650	0
	Green	David Cobb/Pat LaMarche	0.1%	119,910	0
Total Votes				122,194,154	537
Election results via: 2004 Presidential General Election Results

Other candidates that appeared on the ballot received less than 0.1% of the vote. Those candidates included: Leonard Peltier, Walt Brown, Róger Calero, Thomas Harens, Gene Amondson, Bill Van Auken, John Parker, Charles Jay, Stanford Andress and Earl Dodge.^[31]

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for John Kerry, click [show] to expand the section.

2002 On November 5, 2002, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Michael E. Cloud (L) and Randall Forseberg (Write-in) in the general election.[32] U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 2002 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John Kerry incumbent 72.3% 1,605,976      Libertarian Michael E. Cloud 16.7% 369,807      Write-in Randall Forseberg 1.1% 24,898      N/A Other 0.3% 6,077      N/A Blank/Scattering 9.6% 213,543 Total Votes 2,220,301 1996 On November 5, 1996, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated William F. Weld (R), Susan C. Gallagher (Conservative) and Robert C. Stowe (Natural Law) in the general election.[33] U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 1996 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John Kerry incumbent 52.2% 1,334,135      Republican William F. Weld 44.7% 1,143,120      Conservative Susan C. Gallagher 2.7% 70,007      Natural Law Robert C. Stowe 0.3% 7,169      N/A Other 0.1% 1,511 Total Votes 2,555,942 1990 On November 6, 1990, John Kerry won re-election to the United States Senate. He defeated Jim Rappaport (R) in the general election.[34] U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 1990 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John Kerry incumbent 54.5% 1,321,712      Republican Jim Rappaport 41% 992,917      N/A Other 4.5% 109,950 Total Votes 2,424,579 1984 On November 6, 1984, John Kerry won election to the United States Senate. He defeated Raymond Shamie (R) in the general election.[35] U.S. Senate, Massachusetts General Election, 1984 Party Candidate Vote % Votes      Democratic John Kerry 55% 1,393,150      Republican Raymond 44.9% 1,136,913      N/A Other 0% 843 Total Votes 2,530,906

Campaign donors

2008

Kerry won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2008. During that re-election cycle, Kerry's campaign committee raised a total of $11,105,663 and spent $17,016,823.^[36]

U.S. Senate, Massachusetts, 2008 - John Kerry Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$11,105,663
Total Spent	$17,016,823
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$2,072,027
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$2,005,358
Top contributors to John Kerry's campaign committee
University of California	$634,225
Harvard University	$365,239
Goldman Sachs	$308,250
Time Warner	$301,624
Citigroup	$296,681
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Lawyers/Law Firms	$385,356
Democratic/Liberal	$312,901
Securities & Investment	$243,900
Retired	$187,222
Real Estate	$176,030

To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section.
Breakdown of the source of Kerry's campaign funds before the 2008 election.

2002

Kerry won re-election to the U.S. Senate in 2002. During that re-election cycle, Kerry's campaign committee raised a total of $15,468,903 and spent $10,297,909.^[37]

His top five contributors between 2003-2008 were:

U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts, 2002 - John Kerry Campaign Contributions
Total Raised	$15,468,903
Total Spent	$10,297,909
Total Raised by General Election Opponent	$182,064
Total Spent by General Election Opponent	$181,984
Top contributors to John Kerry's campaign committee
FleetBoston Financial	$69,000
Interpublic Group	$58,750
Mintz, Levin et al	$54,200
Verizon Communications	$48,206
Raytheon Co	$44,350
Top 5 industries that contributed to campaign committee
Securities & Investment	$11,309
Candidate Committees	$8,500
Finance/Credit Companies	$4,000
Lawyers/Law Firms	$2,600
Electric Utilities	$2,000

To view the breakdown of campaign funding by type click [show] to expand the section.
Breakdown of the source of Kerry's campaign funds before the 2002 election.

Analysis

Ideology and leadership

See also: GovTrack's Political Spectrum & Legislative Leadership ranking

2012

Based on an analysis of bill sponsorship by GovTrack, Kerry was a "far-left Democratic leader."^[38]

National Journal vote ratings

See also: National Journal vote ratings

Each year, National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of Congress voted, as compared to other members, in the previous year. More information about the analysis process can be found on the vote ratings page.

2012

According to the data released in 2013, Kerry ranked 24th most liberal senator during 2012.^[39]

2011

According to the data released in 2012, Kerry ranked 24th most liberal senator during 2011.^[40]

Voting with party

2011

The website OpenCongress tracks how often members of Congress vote with the majority of the chamber caucus. According to the website, Kerry voted with the Democratic Party 97.2 percent of the time, which ranked 6th among the 51 Senate Democrats in November 2011.^[41]

Congressional staff salaries

See also: Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Kerry paid his congressional staff a total of $2,828,790 in 2011. He ranks 15th on the list of the highest paid Democratic senatorial staff salaries and ranks 20th overall of the highest paid senatorial staff salaries in 2011. Overall, Massachusetts ranks 12th in average salary for senatorial staff. The average U.S. Senate congressional staff was paid $2,529,141.70 in fiscal year 2011.^[42]

Net worth

See also: Changes in Net Worth of U.S. Senators and Representatives (Personal Gain Index) and Net worth of United States Senators and Representatives

2011

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Kerry's net worth as of 2011 was estimated between $184,268,546 and $287,685,063.00. That averages to $235,976,804.00, which is significantly higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2011 of $20,795,449.53. His average calculated net worth^[43] increased by 1.84 percent from 2010.^[44]

2010

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org, Kerry's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $181,469,521 and $281,976,067. That averages to $231,722,794, which is higher than the average net worth of Democratic senators in 2010 of $19,383,524 .^[45]

Personal

Kerry is married to Theresa Heinz. He and his first wife, Julia Thorne, were divorced in 1988. Kerry has two children from his first marriage -- Alexandra and Vanessa. He has three stepsons -- H. John Heinz IV, Andre Heinz and Christopher Heinz.

Recent news

This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term John + Kerry + Secretary + State

See also

• U.S. Department of State
• Massachusetts
• United States Senate
• Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor
• Crisis in Gaza, 2014
• ISIS insurgency in Iraq and Syria
• George W. Bush
• Hillary Clinton

External links

• John Kerry on Facebook
• John Kerry on Twitter

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Hillary Clinton	U.S. Secretary of State 2013-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by Paul Tsongas	U.S. Senate - Massachusetts 1985-2013	Succeeded by Mo Cowan

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